Irish Examiner view: Don’t hold your breath

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the first step into the scoping process on how the Government handled the covid-19 pandemic hasn't even started.

The old technique of placing potentially problematic questions “on the long finger” is currently being pointed at expectations that there will be an inquiry into what happened in Ireland during the pandemic. 

Over 18 months since Micheál Martin promised what he liked to describe as an “an evaluation of how the country managed covid-19”, nothing is happening.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is reported to have said that the scoping exercise, the first step in the process, has not even begun. No terms of reference have been set. 

Mr Varadkar added: “I can see across the water in the UK, it’s turning into all sorts of things.” 

Using procedures in Britain — which is preparing itself for a highly acrimonious election — as an excuse for inaction in Ireland is downright feeble. 

In the meantime our Government is prepared to see information slip into the public domain with no formal attempt to ask questions and join up the dots, thus providing a clear explanation of what was done and why. It won’t do, and we must not stand for it.